Tiny homes can quickly turn out too cramped, resulting in claustrophobia. But when done right, these houses are a great way to live sustainably and affordably. The latest example of tiny home architecture done right comes from South Africa in the form of the lifePOD, designed by a team of architects called Collaborate000. They were assisted by product designers Dokter and Missses.

Shipping container homes are taking the architecture world by storm and naturally they have fierce supporters on one side, and naysayers on the other. The Australia-based company Nova Deko Modular has recently unveiled a new line of modular homes, which were inspired by shipping container architecture. The units they offer vary in size, while all are based on a standard 40-foot shipping container. In this way, they have been able to take advantage of the best things offered by cargotecture, while leaving behind much of the negative.

Güte, a Canadian home builder recently unveiled a unique tiny home, the design of which was inspired by shepherds’ huts of the past. Their creation is a prefabricated hut that rests on a trailer and can be used as a tiny home, office space, or guest room. It has the option to connect it to a power source, but it can also function off-the-grid, exactly like the shepherd’s huts of old did.

Simplifying and minimizing is the key to more sustainable living, and it’s always nice to see cool new housing developed with this in mind. The Japanese firm MUJI recently unveiled yet another new prefab design called the Vertical House, which is simple, affordable and environmentally-friendly, and has a very tiny footprint.

This recently constructed shipping container home is another prime example of just how versatile cargotecture really can be. Irish architect and farmer Patrick Bradley built this home using four shipping containers, which he obtained from the Belfast Docks. The home is located in a rural area of Northern Ireland, where his new home is by far the most modern one around.

Due to being inexpensive and readily available, shipping containers are often used for building affordable housing for the less fortunate. This was recently proven by the Johannesburg, South Africa firm Architecture for a change (A4AC) who used shipping containers to construct a school and community center Malawi. The structure is also capable of operating independent of the grid, since it is equipped with a rainwater harvesting system and a solar power array.